Published in The BANAR October 1997
by Al Ross, Civic Affairs
In June, the City hired a Construction Manager to oversee the construction, and co-ordinate the sub-trades for the construction of the Community Hall. Tenders were requested for the various parts of the construction, but unfortunately there were some aspects of the project which did not receive responses, and those that did come in, were higher than expected. The City then decided to ask General Contractors to submit tenders for the whole project, and when the lowest tender was received in September, the cost of the project worked out to be approximately $137,000 over budget, including GST, Permits, Design, and Contingencies.
As reported in previous BANARS, as far as the City was concerned, funding for the Community Hall was limited to $300,000 for the basic building structure. The preliminary cost estimates we had at the time the design options were presented, indicated that the annex on the front of the arena was approximately $85,000 less expensive than the second floor option. This option was therefore selected to proceed with the preparation of plans for tendering. During the summer, as the plans began to unfold, further fine tuning of cost estimates were realized and it was believed that the total project could come in at around $340,000. The BCA, together with the Recreation and Parks Board (RPB), believed through fund raising and other sources of funds, we could handle this figure.
It is now apparent that the community association cannot come up with the necessary funds to cover the costs that came in through the recent tendering process, so we now find the project in limbo until a new financial plan is put together. It is also apparent that one of the reasons for the selection of the “front annex” design must now be reconsidered.
We are now at the point where two questions must be answered before we can proceed. The first is, “Does the community still support the spending of additional funds for the Community Hall?”, and if so, “What is the desired manner of raising such funds?”
There will be a public Open House on October 15th in the Blackburn Public Library where residents can discuss the City’s Master Plan for Parks in Blackburn Hamlet, and where public input on the Community Hall will be received. Take time to respond to the notice from the City of Gloucester soliciting your comments with regard to the source of funding for this project.